Anything?
by Beaker Bait
Summary: John had always told himself that he would do anything to keep Elizabeth safe, but what she was asking him to do, what he was being cornered into went against every moral he had.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Anything?

Summary: John had always told himself that he would do anything to keep Elizabeth safe, but what she was asking him to do, what he was being cornered into went against every moral he had.

Pairing: Shep/Weir

Spoilers: Nothing big or specific but just to be safe anything up to 'Michael' is fair game.

**Warnings: Language, adult themes, sexual situations, violence, non-con.**

Disclaimer: Stargate Atlantis is not mine. Only the story line and any made up characters that may appear in the story belong to me.

A/N: I've never written anything like this before, but for some reason the basic plot for this stuck in my head and wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it out. Since I've never really done this kind of story I'm not sure how well it'll turn out, so I ask you all to stick with me while I work it out.

--

Sitting in the Arcadian council chamber John was really beginning to wish he had his gun with him. But since he was supposed to be keeping up the pretense of actually wanting to negotiate a treaty with the government of Arcadia, he along with Lorne had been forced to hand over their weapons before entering the council chamber. Only the fact that Ronon and a few marines were out side and still armed gave John a measure of comfort.

John would have felt better if Teyla had been there as well, but the Arcadians were a totalitarian culture that treated women lower than dirt so it had been decided to send an all male team to Arcadia. Under normal circumstances they wouldn't have even bothered dealing with the Arcadians, but the first real, promising led they'd had in a year to the whereabouts of Elizabeth had led them to Arcadia.

During a diplomatic mission off world the team had been attacked by slavers in the middle of the night and Elizabeth had been taken. John – the only one who'd seen the gate address – had been severely injured and spent a month cooped up in the infirmary. By the time he'd been coherent enough to give his people the gate address the slavers were long gone and the team had no way of knowing were they'd taken Elizabeth. They'd been searching and keeping their eyes and ears open for even the smallest hint of where Elizabeth might be ever since.

Sitting at the head of the table was Grand Patriarch Jerick, head of the Arcadian council. He was a fat, arrogant, self-centered man who was accustomed to getting what he wanted when he wanted it. Flanking him were Councilmen Talmain – a man that reminded John of a typical politician – Fensil – a sleazy weasel of a man – and Kaid – of all the councilmen John found Kaid to be an almost decent person.

John was exhausted and desperately wished he didn't have to deal with these people, but in order to have a chance to search the planet to see if Elizabeth was actually there they had to make nice with the Arcadian government. Since women weren't treated well in this culture the decision had been made not to tell Jerick and the others why they were really there. Instead while John and Lorne put on the act of working out a trade agreement Ronon and the other Marines discretely poked around the capital city to see if they could find out anything about Elizabeth.

Drawing heavily on Lorne who was more diplomatically minded than he was John was able to make it through the opening round of negotiations with out losing face or causing any diplomatic incidents. He was beginning to think he could pull this off when they brought the woman out.

There was a dozen or so of them ranging from tall and thin to short and cuddly. They were all stunningly beautiful and scantily clad, and they all wore smiles that looked as if they'd been glued on, there was no sincere emotion in their blank eyes at all.

Except for one.

John swore his heart stopped as he spotted one of the women staring right at him. Her smile was as empty as the others, but her eyes were alive and riveted to him flooding with emotion. Finally, finally after a long tortuous year he'd found her, he'd found Elizabeth.

"Gorgeous, aren't they?" Jerick called expansively.

Snapping back to his surroundings John quickly wiped the emotions he was feeling off his face, trying to keep up pretenses. "What's this?"

"Entertainment, business is over for the day it's time for fun." Jerick smiled then gestured to one of the girls, "C'mere, lovely." He pulled the woman – she couldn't be more than 19 – into his lap.

"Are these women slaves?" Lorne attempted to keep his anger and disgust out of his voice, not wanting to risk offence especially since they'd finally found Elizabeth.

"Naah, slaves know their place, these girls are nothin' but traitors, criminals. Isn't that right, sweetheart?" He firmly gripped the girl's chin. "This one here was part of a group that was plotting to over through this council."

"Every last one of these women is a terrorist or consorted with and provided aid to known terrorists, which is just as bad." Fensil spoke a look of contempt on his face. "We don't put up with their kind here. The men are made examples of, we're not barbarians though. We don't go beating and killing our woman, but even though we may have a soft spot for them we still need away to deter them."

"That's no excuse to treat them like whores." John muttered under his breath, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. He wasn't sure how but some how John kept himself from lunging over the table and strangling the life out of these men. He spoke up louder, "As much as we appreciate the offer," he choked out. "We make it policy not to mix business with pleasure."

"I insist." Jerick waved a hand and the woman began to saunter around the room. "Relax, enjoy yourselves."

John was about to speak further but stopped when Elizabeth was suddenly standing over him running a lazy finger over his chest. She leaned forward as if to kiss his cheek, whispering in his ear, "Don't refuse." Despite his best effort not to John's breath hitched at being this close to Elizabeth.

"Ah I see this one has caught your attention. You have fine taste in woman, Sheppard. I've had her a few times myself, trust me when I say you won't be disappointed." Jerick leaned forward conspiratorially. "But I must warn you she can be spirited at times, you may have to put her in her place, but that shouldn't be a problem for you." He leaned back, letting out a sharp laugh.

The only thing that kept John from finally lunging over the table was Elizabeth sliding into his lap, a hand lacing into the hair on the back of his head in a not so subtle order to stay put. Letting out a soft, but frustrated sigh John wrapped an arm around Elizabeth's waist, "I suppose I can make an exception."

"Good, I'll have her sent to your room." He grinned snapping his fingers. Elizabeth rose exiting without another look at John.

Once all the formalities for officially ending the meeting were over and the Councilmen had left John pulled Lorne aside. "Let Ronon know that we've found Elizabeth, tell him and the Marines to set up a perimeter around this building, if anyone enters or leaves this building I wanna know about it. After that's done I want you to head back to Atlantis get a jumper, come back here cloaked and get as detailed a scan of this buildings and surrounding area as you can."

"Yes, sir." Lorne nodded leaving to carry out his orders.

--

Returning to his room John pulled out his Ancient scanner checking to make sure the place hadn't been re-bugged since he'd been there that afternoon just before the negotiations had started. Finding no evidence of any more listening devices he relaxed slightly shrugging off his vest and getting comfy while he waited for Elizabeth.

It wasn't long before the door to the room opened and Elizabeth entered. John found himself momentarily speechless as she sauntered into the room. What little clothing she wore seemed designed to accentuate her femininity as much as possible: a black, lacy, strapless push-up bra with a silk tie in-between her breasts, and a pair of lacy black panties fastened by silk ribbons at the sides.

"I'm here to make your night enjoyable." Elizabeth's voice was low and pleasant; it seemed firm on the surface, but there was the faint edge of a quaver in it.

Coming to his senses John snatched his jacket off the bed where he'd tossed and moved to wrap it around Elizabeth's shoulders. "Rooms clean." He assured seeing the uncertainty and fear in Elizabeth's eyes.

Almost instantly her sexy confident pose vanished. She seemed to collapse in on herself, becoming smaller as she clutched the jacket around her. "Thank God," she took a deep shuddering breath, her eyes suspiciously bright.

John wanted nothing more than to gather Elizabeth into his arms and comfort her – to someone who knew Elizabeth as well as he did it was obvious that she was near her breaking point – but he wasn't sure how she would react to such a gesture.

"How…long…how…?" John was finding it hard to keep his emotions in check.

"Pretty much the whole time I've been gone. A man here bought me from the slavers that took me. Turned out he was a dissident, didn't agree with the government and since I was his property that made me guilty by association. On this world anyone who disagrees with the government or shows even the slightest act of dissidence is imprisoned. If you're a man…or a woman that doesn't meet their standards you're executed. If you're a woman that does meet their standards…well let's just say you'll wish you were dead."

"God…" John stopped fighting his instincts and pulled Elizabeth into his embrace.

Elizabeth buried her head into his neck, one hand clutching the front of his shirt, "I've been degraded, been tortured and humiliated here I can't bear it anymore..." She choked off, fighting for control, apparently on the edge of tears.

"Shh…" John ran a soothing hand through Elizabeth's hair. "It's almost over, I'llhave you out of here soon, I swear." They stood there like that for several minutes, suddenly John tensed, pulling back slightly when he felt Elizabeth start to trail light kisses along his neck. "Elizabeth What're you doing?"

"What I was sent here to do." She tried to move closer to continue kissing him, but John held her back.

"You don't have to do this." He frowned.

"Yes I do…" Elizabeth ducked her head. "They…they check. If they don't find evidence that we had sex I'll be punished."

"Punished…?" John shook his head in disbelief. "What if I turned you down?"

"They'd see it as my fault and still punish me…Please John, you can't imagine what I'll suffer if you don't." Her voice had a twinge of desperation and fear in it.

John ran a frustrated hand through his hair. This was not how he'd planed things to go. It wasn't that he didn't want Elizabeth; things had actually been head that way before she'd been taken, the two of them had started to explore the connection that had existed between them for a while. He didn't think he could manage, in his mind it would feel like he was raping her even if she had asked – the only reason she was asking was because she was being threatened, forced into it.

"Would it really be so bad?" Elizabeth bit her lower lip nervously. John had always told himself that he would do anything to keep Elizabeth safe, but what she was asking him to do, what he was being cornered into went against every moral he had. "I can make it good for you."

"No," He gently took a hold of Elizabeth's shoulders leading her over to sit on the bed – it wasn't his first choice but it was the only place they could both sit – as she went pale. "I mean this isn't going to be all about me."

As they settled on the bed something in Elizabeth's demeanor changed. John could only watch in puzzlement as her bright eyes went suddenly hard and flat and a seductive smile curled her lips. Before he could react Elizabeth was leaning forward capturing his lips, the jacket sliding off her shoulders.

The kiss was clinical there was no emotion of any kind behind it. Her mouth applied firm yet gentle pressure as she slid her soft, warm body against his. As if on autopilot Elizabeth's hands came up to gently stroke slowly through John's hair. One hand moved down to the back of his neck, pressing him deeper into the kiss.

"Elizabeth…stop." John pulled back, resting his forehead against Elizabeth's.

Her eyes snapped open and the tension she'd been suppressing flowed through her muscles, "What…? I don't…"

"This won't work…if this is going to happen, you have to be you, not some robot." He gently kissed her forehead. "Just you and me…no acts, no hiding true feelings, just us." He began to stroke her hair, trying to relax her with gentle, non-threatening contact. "I want this to be pleasurable for you."

"I don't…I don't know if…I'll ever find sex pleasurable again. These people they whittle me down, and whittle me down, and I wonder sometimes will I even know it when I'm broken? Has it happened already, and I didn't notice?" She cut herself off with a choked sob.

"Shh…" John wrapped her in his arms. "You haven't broken, I know you, and you'll never break no matter what. You might get a little bent but never broken." They sat there like that in silence for several minutes before John broke the silence. "I know you think this won't be pleasurable for you, but will you let me try to make it that way for you?"

"I Trust you, I do, but…"

"No buts. Just try to relax, really relax, don't just shove your tension down and pretend it isn't there. You know me, what kind of person I am you know I won't doing anything you don't want me to. If you want me to stop just say the word."

"Relax, right, right I can do that…well try to at least."

"Good now lay back." He guided Elizabeth down on the bed, stretching himself out next to her. He propped himself up on an elbow.

John soothingly stroked Elizabeth's face. Her eyes were fixed on his, burning into him gently he pushed aside her hair and kissed her neck, moving down and around it until he had reached the hollow of her throat. When he raised his head, Elizabeth was still watching him intently.

He leaned in to kiss her on the lips. She pressed back and opened her mouth invitingly before her tongue moved out to touch the tip of his own. Elizabeth's hands had come up and were stroking his sides, and under his own hands John felt her force each muscle to relax.

He broke the kiss, "What is it Elizabeth? What's wrong?"

Her eyes had gone wide. She looked for all the world like a child caught in a lie, and yet he could see hatred sparkling in them, though it wasn't hatred for him. "Nothing, nothings wrong."

"No hiding, remember? Something I did bothered you. Tell me, please."

"It's…it's nothing really…it's just that when you kissed…I mean I was ok when it was just my skin, but…"

"You should have said something."

"I'm sorry…don't be mad."

John paused, he wasn't mad not at her anyway, "I'm not mad, I'm worried." He sighed again, feeling battered by his sorrow for her and his painful discomfort with the entire situation. "If this is going to work I need you to be honest with me… Why did you respond to the kiss if you weren't comfortable with it?"

"It…it was just reflex I guess… I had to learn…if I didn't respond the way they wanted me to, they'd use the implant on me." She absently rubbed at the back of her neck.

"Implant?"

"Neural implant, it provides a direct feed of stimulus to the pain centers of the brain. Any sort of disobedience and they won't hesitate to activate it."

"God damn bastards!" John tried to clamp down on his rage.

"No argument from me." Elizabeth gave a weak smile.

John softly cupped Elizabeth's face, "It's understandable that after all this time you have these ingrained response, but I need you to try and control them, if you can't I understand, but please try. I want you to give me genuine responses, not false ones."

Elizabeth took a deep breath reaching up to hold the hand cupping her face. "God I'm really screwed up aren't I?"

"Nothing that can't be fixed with time, patience, and help." God, Heightmeyer was going to have her work cut out for her.

John went back to gently stroking Elizabeth's body. Occasional kisses on her neck or eyelids punctuated his gradual movements, until he had worked his way down to her breasts. He gave them no more than a light caress, suspecting she wasn't ready for anything more than that.

Her intense dark eyes, her slightly ragged breathing, told him she was aroused, but not enough for her to accept explicitly sexual caresses without fear driving her back into her training, John thought, she needed to be actively desirous. And he judged that she wasn't quite there yet. Instead he stroked her sides and belly, kissing the hollow of her throat and moving down from there, caressing the line of her collarbone with his mouth.

His hands teased her, stroking nearer and nearer to the groin without ever touching her there, then bypassing it entirely to run light fingers along her legs. By this time he had kissed his way down to the silk tie between her breasts, fastening her bra closed, and her breathing had grown distinctly ragged.

John undid the tie and pushed the cups of the bra out of the way. Elizabeth moaned softly. He explored the surface of one breast thoroughly with his tongue, finding all the different textures of her skin there. When he licked at the nipple itself, it was brief, teasing. Elizabeth's body shifted under his, her back arching slightly, pressing the breast up into his caresses.

John took that as an invitation and finally fastened his mouth on the nipple, suckling at it, probing it with his tongue. This time her moans were not soft at all; her hands clenched in the bed sheet and she shifted under him again, her body pressing into his. The scent of her was intoxicating, the sounds she made thrilling. His own need had started to grow, and he was finding his uniform increasingly confining.

He released her breast, sitting up to pull off his shirt and boots. Mentally he debated with himself whether or not to remove the pants -- he didn't want to make her uneasy, but they were becoming uncomfortable. John compromised, removing his pants but leaving his boxers in place for now. Elizabeth watched as he undressed, her eyes exploring his naked torso.

She reached a hand tentatively up pausing just before touching him, "I didn't think I would ever want to touch a man again, but I…I suddenly want to touch you."

"Touch away." John gently took her hand moving it to rest on his chest. She ran the hand down his chest.

John shivered a bit at her touches as he lay down beside her again. He leaned over her body, lying across it, enjoying the feel of her skin against his, and proceeded to explore her other breast as thoroughly as he had the first. She gasped as his mouth fastened on her nipple, suckling, and her hands moved over his back, tracing haphazard designs on the skin there.

As he kissed her breasts, he began an exploration of her legs with his hands. He caressed her inner thighs, and finally, lightly, caressed her groin. She gasped again, her fingers tightening into his back, then releasing. John kissed his way down her belly until he reached the line of her panties, then kissing her all across the panty line until he reached the silk tie at one of her hips. He undid the tie, pushed the panty front out of the way and licked at the junction of thigh and pelvis. He kissed his way over to the other tie, and repeated his ministrations. Then, when both ties were undone, he tugged them off her.

At last his mouth reached the hot, taut flesh of her clitoris. Elizabeth cried out as he licked and suckled at her. Her left hand reached down to his head, her fingers threading through his hair. As his left hand slid down her side, she caught it with her right, clenching it rhythmically as she moved her hips.

She was moist but not grossly drenched, her taste light and womanly, enticing without being overpowering. Gently he probed with his tongue, her muscles felt relaxed and accepting, and his desire became suddenly overwhelming.

With one hand, John worked his briefs off, trying not to disrupt the rhythm of what he was doing. This was difficult and frustrating, but better that he be frustrated than Elizabeth. He resumed suckling at her clitoris, flicking his tongue at the tip as she panted and clenched at his hand, almost tightly enough to hurt. At last he got the briefs all the way off him. John released Elizabeth, extricated his hand, and knelt between her legs, positioning himself at the entrance to her body.

As he began to penetrate her, her eyes snapped open and her whole body tensed, her expression turning to one of fear. Instantly John withdrew – he hadn't far to go, since he'd been going in slowly – and sat back on his feet, trying to ignore the protests from his frustrated groin. "Elizabeth?"

Her eyes now brightened with tears. "I'm sorry," she said, sounding miserably embarrassed. "I'm sorry, John. I can control it-- usually I can make them think I want it-- but you didn't want that, and I couldn't-- I'm sorry. Just don't worry about me. I'll get it under control."

"Of _course_ I'll worry about you. I _don't_ want you to pretend with me-- you did absolutely the right thing by letting me see how you really felt. You let me know we were going too quickly for you."

"I'm sorry," she whispered miserably.

"No, no you have nothing to be sorry about. We'll just take things slower." He stretched himself out and lay between her legs again, exploring belly and thighs with his tongue, teasing her a bit before he reached the center of her pleasure again.

In short order, as she continued to move with his touches, she was moaning again. John decided to bring her to orgasm this way. After that, it would be easy to get her to remain aroused as he moved into her. And there was something else he could try. As her moans grew in volume, he stroked her thighs with his hand, then explored her labia and the area between them with a single finger, gently.

Slowly he circled around her entrance and slowly, carefully, penetrated her, making her gasp. Her body tensed and relaxed, tensed and relaxed, in a natural rhythmic pattern that spoke of true pleasure. With controlled, gradual motions John probed deeper, then withdrew, then pushed his finger into her again, repeating the sensation of penetration over and over to get her used to it.

Elizabeth began to gasp in total abandon, writhing, her hips pressing her pelvis upward, into his mouth and probing finger. As his finger explored her deeper and deeper, his mouth suckled ferociously, until finally she cried out and her body jerked violently, her entire groin pulsing with orgasmic waves. John thrust his finger into her hard as she came, a few brief plunges, and withdrew as the spasms shuddered to an end.

"Doing ok?" John murmured moving up to lie next to Elizabeth, he placed a caring kiss on her cheek.

"Mmm…" Elizabeth placed a feather light kiss on the corner of John's mouth. "I'd almost forgotten what this could be like."

"It's not over yet." He gently kissed his way down from her neck to her breasts again, and his need had become positively painful. Her moans of pleasure were not helping him any in that regard; it was difficult to maintain control; he seemed to have had this erection forever. She groaned as his hand moved to caress her groin. Elizabeth shifted her hips as John slipped a finger inside her. "Let me know when you think you're ready," he said, and knew he'd truly reached her when she didn't automatically tell him to proceed.

It was several moments before Elizabeth spoke, "I…I think I'm ready." Her voice was low, but firm.

Slowly John propped himself up over Elizabeth. "Say stop and I will." He whispered hoarsely, praying that she wouldn't. He'd stop if she needed him to, of course, but damn it would be frustrating. She nodded slightly, nervously biting her lower lip.

Adjusting his hips slightly, John found her entrance and slowly pushed in. He wanted to bring her to climax first before he could allow it for himself, so he moved within her, slowly at first. He entered, pushed forward a bit then retreated, pushing in a little bit further each time.

His own controlled, measured thrusts were driving him insane with pleasure and need; he wanted to push all the way in, to take her passionately, but John was nothing if not patient. The longer he prolonged this, the more maddened with pleasure he became before he lost control, the sweeter the final release would be.

Elizabeth reached down to grasp John's butt, pulling him in closer as she moved against him, taking him in more deeply. John gasped hoarsely, he was going to lose control. He had to concentrate on something else anything but the unbearable pleasure he was feeling as Elizabeth's body thrust against his, and her warmth encircled him, she moaned in abandon as his body thrust into hers...And then she was crying out, her back arched, thrusting against him wildly, and a warm wave washed over him as he knew he could allow himself release.

John held her tightly wrapping his arms around her small frame, and thrust hard, gasping, crying out as his own climax triggered. Elizabeth's arms had gone around him, pulling him tightly against her, embracing him completely. She surrounded and enveloped him and there was nothing but the sweet hot fire of release.

John sank down having just enough mind to shift so that he wasn't crushing Elizabeth. He lazily ran a hand up and down her arm. Elizabeth lay panting for a while, overwhelmed by what she'd just experienced. For a few minutes the two of them just lay there, enjoying the afterglow.

Eventually, wordlessly, Elizabeth slid out of the bed and disappeared into the bathroom. John curled up on his side trying to fight off the sleep that threatened to envelop him, wanting to wait for Elizabeth to come back. Through sheer force of will John rolled out of bed retrieving his boxers off the floor, sliding them on. When Elizabeth came out of the bathroom John offered her his shirt – it was loose fitting on him, so would be just the right size for a nightshirt on Elizabeth. She accepted the shirt with a small smile of thanks.

Lying back down John made sure to leave enough room for Elizabeth to sleep comfortably if she didn't want to be held. He mentally smiled when she laid down next to him snuggling into his side. It had been too long since he'd done this – had a woman's warm body snuggled up next to him, relaxed and sleepy. He had been under more tension lately than he knew. The circumstances could have been a hell of a lot better, but he found he couldn't regret personally what had happened. He hoped she felt the same.

Sometime in the middle of the night a soft sound drew John out of sleep. It didn't take him long to realize that the sound was coming from Elizabeth. She was lying with her face buried into the pillow softly crying, it was barely audible. John realized it had been the trembling of her body that had awakened. Gently, wordlessly, he reached out to stroke her back and offer comfort. She jerked, her head whipping up to peer at him.

"You ok?" he didn't stop rubbing her back even as she tensed up.

"I woke you up, didn't I?" Her eyes closed, and she turned away. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Don't be, it's not your fault. I'm a light sleeper, it comes with the job." He gently grasped her chin forcing her to look at him. "Wanna talk about it?"

Elizabeth shook her head, "It's nothing, go back to sleep."

"Elizabeth." John brushed her hair back out of her face. "Talk to me, please."

"Really it's nothing…it's just it's been awhile since anyone's been kind to me."

Not sure what to say John wrapped his arms around Elizabeth, softly kissing her forehead. Several minutes later when her breathing changed and indicated that she was asleep, John allowed himself to drift off again.

Later in the early morning John was once again pulled from sleep. Blinking his eyes open he found Elizabeth leaning over him just watching him. With a lazy smile he reached up to brush a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"I keep expecting to wake up and find that this was all just a dream." Elizabeth spoke softly.

"Trust me this is no dream." He ran a soothing hand along her arm.

"Whatever it is I don't want it to end. I don't want to go back to being a toy for whoever comes along, every day and night until you can get me out of here."

"Well there's no way on hell I'm gonna let _anyone_ use you like a toy ever again. I don't care if I have to beat the shit out of every man on this planet, no one is ever going to mistreat you again."

"Just ask for me, I'll be working the 'negotiations' until there over. I'm sure Jerick will accommodate any special requests."

Seeing the fear and pain that flashed in Elizabeth's eyes John put his arm around her, as if he could somehow ward off her demons. "Go back to sleep, we still have a few hours before we have to get up."

She was warm and soft and her presence comforting, but John spent at least another hour staring into the darkness, listening to her breathe before sleep finally came. He was worried about just how deep the damage went and if Elizabeth would be able work past it. John knew she would never be the same as she had been before, but he hoped she could at least get close.


	2. Chapter 2

In the morning after John left Elizabeth was escorted back to the women's quarters. She was more relaxed and in higher spirits than she'd been in a long while. A night of genuinely relaxing sleep had done her a whirl of good.

The woman's quarters were nothing more than a big room stuffed full of bunks. The bunks were lined up in rows from wall to wall with only a few feet walking space between them. In the back of the room was a door to another room, the communal bathroom. Every part of the room was under the eye of cameras and listening devices, but there were places the women could go for small amounts of privacy – some individual bunks couldn't be seen by the cameras, and the women had gotten a length of cloth and hung it over one of the latrine stools in the bathroom to give women who absolutely needed it a few moments of unobserved privacy.

Aimlessly wandering through the maze of bunks Elizabeth soon found herself wandering over to Leea's corner – a spot on the floor between two bunks where neither the cameras nor the listening devices could pick up much of anything. The middle-aged woman sat working out the day's duty roster, Elizabeth mentally smiled in relief, working the negotiations meant that she was excused from day shifts.

"Looks like someone had a good night." Leea looked up.

"God," Elizabeth plopped down next to the older woman. "I can't believe I almost forgot what that could really be like."

"I'm glad for you, but be careful. Remember that while a man on occasion can be fun to fuck, never trust one with your heart. Men are selfish, self centered, arrogant, bastards that will beat you down at every opportunity."

"John's a good man, on his world…our world…woman are treated like actual people, treated like equals. He's a real gentleman." She smiled faintly thing of the night before. Suddenly terror ran through her as a thought came to her mind, she jerked up straighter, "Shit, how obvious is it that I had a good time last night?"

"You'd have to be dead not to notice. No need to worry, you know they won't care in medical."

"But Jerick will." If Jerick knew that John had been kind to her, she would never be allowed to go back to John. Jerick enjoyed sharing Elizabeth with men who'd hurt her; he got off on that. Elizabeth's misery was personal for Jerick, if he thought for even a second that she'd enjoyed herself with John he'd give her to someone else or even take her himself tonight, flaunting his possession of her at John, who'd dared to give his degradation toy a night of pleasure.

She had to do something she had to find a way to stop what she saw coming, but how? Jerick would interrogate her about John. She knew she was a good actress – years of working as a diplomat had made sure of that – but could she really pretend to be cringing and whining and terrified, as usual, when her whole world was upside down? When John was going to rescue her and the night with him had been amazing and the only reason she wasn't grinning like an idiot now was the terror that it _wouldn't_ happen again?

"Well there's nothing you can do about it now." Leea gazed at Elizabeth with sympathy.

"Yes there is." Elizabeth scrambled to her feet headed for the bathroom.

Ducking into the make shift stall Elizabeth took a deep breath, and then flung herself as hard as she could at the wall. There were cameras all over the bathroom, as much a way to humiliate the women as a way to keep an eye on them, but the blanket blocked the cameras and everyone knew the listening devices couldn't handle anything short of a loud conversation, in a room where water was always running.

She threw herself at the wall, again and again, until her head spun dizzily. When she left the stall she was walking unsteadily, dizzy. She glanced at herself in the long mirror running the length of the latrines. Good, the bruises were already starting to show a little. In half an hour they'd be vivid. The guards rounded them up on schedule. In medical after all the samples had been taken and the examinations were complete Elizabeth was led off to debriefing.

She spent an hour lying to Jerick, telling him that no John hadn't told her anything, that there'd been no pillow talk or offhanded mention of strategies. Elizabeth gave him a detailed description of what John had done to her last night, including where the bruises had come from. None of it was true, but since she was drawing off things various Arcadian men, including Jerick himself, _had_ done to her in the past, she had no trouble making it convincing. Jerick was staring at her, piggy eyes wide, obviously aroused, but it was entirely too poor etiquette for him to fuck a woman he'd temporarily gifted to another man, even if she was one of his favorites. He'd take it out on some other poor soul instead, she knew, and hated herself for how relieved she felt.

--

Through sheer force of will John managed to make it through the day's negotiations. As soon as the negotiations paused for mid-day meal John immediately rounded up Lorne and Ronon to go over what they had for plans to rescue Elizabeth.

Boarding the jumper Lorne had left cloaked by the gate John wasn't even the slightest bit surprised to find Rodney and Carson waiting, although he was surprised to find Teyla there.

"Save your breath," Teyla cut John off before he could open his mouth. "I am here and I am not going anywhere, until we have Dr. Weir back."

"Right." John turned to face Lorne, "What've you got Major?"

"This," Lorne handed a paper to John "is the scan we took of the building. We know for sure that these rooms," he pointed out different sections of the scan, "are the conference rooms, and that these are the guest quarters. Other then those rooms we don't know what any of these other rooms are for."

"I'll show these to Elizabeth, she should know what these other rooms are." John slid the scan into his jacket. "Ronon?"

"Guard rotation's pretty standard. Shouldn't be a problem for us to get past them into the building. After that things get tricky, we have no idea how many guards are inside or what their rotation's like. There's also the security cameras to deal with."

"Got that covered." Rodney spoke up. "Just get me inside and I can jam the cameras and any listening devices there might be."

The group spent an hour planning out as much of a plan as they could with the information they had – John planed to get the information they were missing from Elizabeth the next time he saw her.

Arriving back at the conference room John snagged one of the many aides running around and pulled him off to the side. After arranging to make sure Elizabeth would be waiting for him in his room John reluctantly forced himself back to the negotiations.

Finally after a frustratingly long day John was able to return to his room. Entering the room he didn't immediately see Elizabeth

"Elizabeth?" John called out as he entered the room.

"In here," Elizabeth's voice came from the bathroom. "You don't mind do you, if I wash up a bit?" She poked her head out the bathroom door.

"Go for it." John plopped down on the bed sliding his boots and jacket off. More exhausted than he realized John dozed off before he knew it.

A while later he woke up, the room was darker. Feeling Elizabeth pressed up against his side, a soft arm around his waist, John smiled softly as he moved to wrap an arm around her.

"What's wrong?" John, having felt Elizabeth wince, was instantly wide-awake.

"Nothing." She snuggled in closer to John.

Knowing a lie when he heard one John quickly ran his hand over the light panel by the bed lighting up the room. Elizabeth sighed in resignation, waiting for the inevitable. Seeing the bruises on Elizabeth's body John felt an uncontrollable rage surface inside him.

"That son of a bitch," he started to get out of bed. "I'm going to kill that fucking bastard!"

"John, no!" Elizabeth jerked up right in bed grabbing John's hand tightly. "It's not what you think. They don't even really hurt not like the implant or some of Jerick's more unpleasant pastimes. Besides he's not the one who did it."

"If he didn't…" He trailed off taking in Elizabeth's down cast eyes filled with hints of guilt and uncertainty. "Elizabeth tell me you didn't…you did this to yourself?"

Elizabeth lowered her head nodding faintly, arms folded across her stomach. "I didn't have a choice. It was the only way I knew of to make sure he'd let me come back tonight."

"I don't understand."

"Jerick likes to see me hurt. But last night I…I enjoyed it, you know that. And this morning, I was thinking of tonight... you, and the way you would make me feel, and even if we didn't do anything just knowing you wouldn't _hurt_ me, that I wouldn't have to pretend to be thrilled to the core that some piece of shit would deign to fuck me... and that you were going to get me out of here..." She looked up at John. "I like to think I'm a very good actor… kind of a necessity if you're going to work in politics. But even I have my limits. I didn't know if I could stop hoping, if I could stop looking like I was hoping. Like I was happy. And if I was happy Jerick never would've let you have me again tonight."

"Even if I had insisted?"

"You don't get it, this is more than him just owning me. It's personal for him…the man that bought me from the slavers…he was Jerick's brother and Jerick blames me for 'corrupting' his brother, even though the man was unhappy with the government long before I came along. Jerick likes to think of me as his personal plaything. Sure he hands me out to other men but because of what he thinks I did to his brother he has a personal interest in seeing me suffer. If he'd thought I liked you, he probably would have used the implant on me anyway, just so I'd stop hoping. And even if he didn't do that, he'd never have let me go to you again. So I... I had to make sure, that he'd think I'd suffer if you got me again."

"God, Elizabeth." Elizabeth was pulled into herself, huddling, shivering slightly. John placed his hand on her un-bruised shoulder, repositioning himself to sit closer to her. She leaned into him slightly, the shivering abating.

Holding her firmly without, he hoped, making her feel trapped, he ran soothing touches down her back. She wasn't crying, but she was breathing raggedly, as if fighting off tears. "You're not angry with me, are you? Please don't be angry with me John..."

"Of course I'm not angry. Not with you. I'm angry at _them_, for forcing you to this, but I understand why you did this. I'm just sorry you had to."

She pressed her face against his chest tightly then leaned back, rubbing her eyes with the back of a pale hand. Oddly, only then did he fully realize she was naked. She seemed quite unselfconscious about it. "You must be hungry." She changed the subject.

"Nah just tired."

"Then go to sleep." Elizabeth settled in closer to John. "I'll be here in the morning."

"Won't they…?"

"No," she shook her head. "They know you had me once; since they think you smacked me around, they won't care what you do to me tonight."

Elizabeth's casual use of the expression 'had' as if she were some sort of delicacy and not a person, disturbed John, along with the fact that the Arcadians thought he was the sort of man who beat women for pleasure, like them. The more time he spent on Arcadia the more he was convinced that the majority of the people there deserved to be culled by the Wraith.

"What?" Elizabeth couldn't quite identify the emotion she saw flash in John's eyes.

"Nothing." The emotion disappeared from his eyes as quickly as it had appeared. "Look before we go to sleep I need to go over some things with you."

Carefully reaching over Elizabeth John retrieved the scans from his jacket he'd dropped on the floor next to the bed. He briefly out lined the rough plan they had so far. Elizabeth listened closely, filling in missing pieces of information were she could.

Seeing Elizabeth's eyes starting to droop, John brushed back a strand of her hair out of her face kissing her temple feather lightly. "Sleep, relax. Before you know it we'll have you out of here and back home where you belong."

Elizabeth smiled and closed her eyes, all but nodding off in front of him. John watched her a moment longer, then got under the covers, telling himself quite firmly he was not the least bit aroused by being in bed with a beautiful naked woman.

Waking up early the next morning John smiled finding Elizabeth curled up against him. Her pale body felt light and warm against his. She slightly shifted in her sleep, a noise similar to a whimper escaping.

"No, please…" Elizabeth mumbled in her sleep. Her arms tightened around John, he was pretty sure she was having a nightmare. He wanted to comfort her, but he doubted caressing her as she slept would be a good idea. She'd doubtlessly been mauled so often since coming here...so many unwanted hands.

As another pained whimper escaped from Elizabeth and John couldn't take it any more. Slowly and softly, he moved his hands around until they could trail a long, gentle caress up and down, from the tops of her shoulders to her hips, and back again. To his relief she calmed, her breathing once again slow and deep. He kept touching her, soothing her, long after she'd obviously gone back into deep sleep, smiling at him self, again feeling comforted as well.

The morning came quickly after that, and he awoke feeling quite refreshed, considering.

And then he frowned, realizing he'd reached across an empty bed. Elizabeth wasn't there.

"It's about time you woke up."

Looking up John paused speechless. Elizabeth was standing there wearing a pair of his boxers and one of his black shirts – both of which she'd obviously swiped from his bag – and he had to admit, that to him at least, she looked hot.

John mentally smacked himself, those were not the kind of thoughts he needed to be having. "Morning." He smiled lazily.

"Breakfast?" Elizabeth motioned to the table.

"Mmm," he rolled out of the bed and made his way over to the table. There was what looked like bagels, and fruit, along with the instant coffee that had been in his bag. Sitting down he frowned when Elizabeth didn't move to join him. "Sit down, you need to eat."

John smirked watching the emotions that played over Elizabeth's face. Part of her was touched that he cared and the other part wanted to tell him to go to hell, she was a big girl and could take care of herself. It was just like old times back in Atlantis before she went missing.

Elizabeth sat at the table with him. She nibbled on one of the bagels as John poured her a cup of coffee. Taking the cup she wrapped both hands around it. Sipping at the liquid slowly a look of bliss formed on Elizabeth's face. "Mmm…god I've missed caffeine."

"I'll bet." John grinned. "I'm gonna go get cleaned up." He got up and disappeared into the bathroom.

Emerging from the bathroom John found Elizabeth sitting on the edge of the bed. She was sitting with her shoulders hunched and a far off gaze in her eyes.

"You ok?" He sat down next to her.

"Yeah…just nervous." She let out a soft sigh.

"Don't worry by tomorrow night we'll have you out of here."

She shuddered and stared at the floor. "I can't think about it. If I think about it I'll go crazy." Abruptly, she lay back on the bed, her arms stretched out over her head. "I'm not going to think about anything. I'm just going to report in, let them give me the once-over and lock me up. It's a day like any other." Her hazel eyes shifted and met his. "And I'll see you tonight."

"Wraith couldn't keep me away." He ran a comforting hand across her back. "I'll see you later." Grabbing his jacket off the floor John left the room.


	3. Chapter 3

Unable to get away from the negotiations for very long like the day before John discretely handed the scans with the information Elizabeth had given him over to Ronon. He had every confidence in his team to come up with a workable plan to rescue Elizabeth.

By the time the meeting had adjourned for the day John had been about ready to throttle someone. He was almost convinced that Jerick was toying with him, that the man knew what John thought of him and was going out of his way to be even more obnoxious and arrogant than ever. When the meeting finally broke up John couldn't get out of there fast enough.

--

Elizabeth was ready to go out of her mind. She needed to see John. Needed to touch him, to feel his arms around her. To be reassured that yes, she _was_ getting out of there. That it was going to be over.

The women's quarters had emptied out right around lunch break, and then again at afternoon workday's end, when the men who worked for the government bureaucracy in the building called in for a quick fuck. The day before, the fact that she didn't have to answer the call, that she might well get out of here without ever being raped again, had delighted her.

Today the absence of the other women was a pain in itself. They distracted her from her racing thoughts, from her desperate need. She paced frantically up and down the rows, biting her fingernails to the quick.

Finally, after far too long, the signal rang to allow them out. The guards didn't bother to escort them this time – they'd be check pointed as they reached the cameras outside the guests' quarters, and if they took too long about getting there their implants would activate automatically.

Up three floors, and then she was on the floor where John's quarters were. Just another corner to turn, and a set of doors to go through, and then she'd be right there in the hallway. Turning the corner strong hands grabbed her and pulled her into a conference room. Training at not being allowed to fight back against anyone who wanted to do anything to her kept her from struggling for the only moment where it might have done any good. As soon as she was in the conference room, she managed to twist her head around to see her attacker: Fensil.

"Hello Elizabeth." He spoke in a sleazy tone.

"No please don't sir." Elizabeth gasped, trying to free herself from his grasp. His hands were running all over her body, playing with her hair, fondling her breasts. "I've been gifted to another." She elbowed at him; he pulled her in closer, one arm around her middle and another slipping down into her panties, roughly groping her down there.

"So full of spirit, so fiery." Fensil breathed into Elizabeth's ear.

"You aren't supposed to _have_ me, sir! Please, you know that it's considered a terrible insult to a guest if his woman is taken by anyone else."

"True but no one, but you and me will ever know. Because we both know what Jerick would do to you if he found out."

Elizabeth did know; she'd be tortured. Letting a man other than the one she'd been given to have her, was as bad as if she had refused a man she _had_ been given to. Which meant that if she couldn't break free of Fensil, and he raped her, she wouldn't dare tell anyone. Not even John, for fear his outrage would make him slip. Or for fear that he wouldn't want to touch her anymore.

"Please, please let me go," she begged. "I won't tell anyone you tried to have me."

He spun her around and shoved her against the wall of the conference room, pinning her by the arms. He used his teeth to undo the tie between her breasts, pulling away her bra, and began biting and sucking at them once they were exposed. Elizabeth sagged back against the wall in defeat. She was going to be raped. She ought to be used to this, ought to be totally inured to it in fact. It had only happened, what, nearly _every_ day for the last year now?

But she'd thought she was done with this. She'd thought she would be free, and never be raped again. She'd just learned what it meant to _enjoy_ sex again. It was so unfair for this to happen now, just as she was almost to John, just as she was almost free.

"Oh, you're sweet," he murmured into her breasts.

"Let me go, please," she pleaded.

His hands dug cruelly into her arms, so hard she thought he might break them. She screamed, but before the sound could more than barely begin to leave her throat, he covered her lips with his, thrusting his tongue into her mouth, scraping her lips with his teeth brutally. The pain in her arms eased off. "Scream again, and I'll bite your tongue out."

"I'll do anything you want, but please, let me do it quickly. If I'm not in Colonel Sheppard's room quickly he'll get upset, and if he has anyone search for me you're going to get caught." And if she wasn't in his room quickly, the implant would turn on automatically.

Fensil dropped one arm, the weight of his body keeping her pinned against the wall. He untied her panties, forced her legs apart with a knee, and slid two hard fingers into her. "Oh, I'll fuck you quick, sweet. You needn't worry there. You're so beautiful, it makes me nearly ready to come just thinking about fucking you."

Elizabeth could feel Fensil fumbling at his crotch, and then she was impaled. Fearing that he was telling the truth about biting out her tongue, she tried not scream. She couldn't keep completely silent, she cried brokenly from the pain and the terror. She could have endured this if she hadn't been so close to being free. If she hadn't had hope.

Desperately she tried to think of something else. This time, she actually _had_ something pleasant to think about. She tried to block out the man raping her, tried to imagine John's mouth on hers, his hands on her breasts. John's smooth skin under her hands, his soft caresses. Gentle mouth between her legs. She relaxed despite herself, escaping into the memory. John could make this all go away. It wouldn't hurt anymore. He'd kiss her and make love to her and she'd blot out this bastard and all the other bastards. Her sobs quieted, the pain lessened. She wasn't there anymore her body wasn't being brutalized.

And then Fensil stopped, pulling out of her. "Delightful," he pronounced. "I'd get my clothes on quickly if I were you; Sheppard left the conference room at the same time I did, so he's undoubtedly frantic with worry."

As he left Elizabeth scrambled to get her clothes – what little of them there were – back on then ran out of the room, bolting toward John's quarters with desperate speed. Terror and humiliation still burned through her, driving her. She couldn't tell John this had happened, but she needed him to hold her, desperately.

--

Trying to look just as he had on the two previous evenings, John walked through the doors to his room and closed them behind him. Elizabeth wasn't there. Ice clenched around him, making him cold and light-headed. She wasn't there. Was she delayed, somehow? What if they'd found out about the plan and imprisoned her?

He didn't dare ask what had happened to her – what if she was only running late for some reason, and if he pointed out her lateness to anyone official, she might be tortured for it? In an attempt to distract himself John contacted Ronon to get an update on the rescue plan.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity there was a knock on the door. John breathed out in relief as he saw her, her chest heaving and her face flushed as if she'd been running. Her expression managed to be both blank and questioning at the same time.

He moved quickly towards her and spoke in low tones. "It's all set. We'll be getting you out tomorrow night after you arrive here."

Elizabeth tried not to but found herself bursting into tears.

John froze in mid-stride, then rushed awkwardly forward. He took her in his arms, realized she was shaking, and walked her carefully to the bed, where he sat her down and wrapped her in the bulky comforter, and took both it and her into his arms. Her loud sobs were muffled against his shoulder, and she shuddered with the force of holding back the hysteria he knew she must have been fighting all day.

He held her, not trying to urge her into silence, not trying to hurry her, just keeping her close, smoothing a light touch sometimes through her hair.

"It's been so hard," she finally managed to say, her voice painfully rough. "All day, knowing...having hope. It's been so hard. Things I thought I had gotten used to, things I thought..."

"What happened?" He asked, steeling himself.

"Nothing, really," she said, not looking at him. "I just had a run in Fensil, he wouldn't let me go until he'd felt me up."

John tightened his hold slightly. God he had to get her out of this place, if something like that could break her down so far, when she had to be so used to far worse than mere sexual harassment, then she was probably very close to the edge.

He wasn't sure what exactly he was supposed to do this wasn't really his area. Put him in a cockpit or give him a P-90 and point him in the direction of the Wraith and he would know exactly what to do but this, this was way out of his league. Struggling for something to say John froze slightly when he felt lips lightly brush the sensitive area behind his ear.

"Elizabeth what're you doing…?" John pulled back gently.

"I think it would be obvious." Elizabeth looked at him as though she'd like to have him for dinner and dessert.

While he watched, mouth growing dry, she pushed the comforter down, and pulled her bra off with a single practiced motion. He saw again her pale breasts and the smooth, soft skin, which covered her stomach. When she made to push the cover off her lap, he gently took her hands in his and tried to smile.

"You don't have to do this."

"I want to." She said, voice low and openly urgent. "I keep thinking of what it was like to be with you. I want to touch you all over and watch that thing you do with your face when you feel good, I want to put that look on your face –."

She broke off as John stood and moved away. He began to think he understood this. Elizabeth needed to assert some power here, and, having only sexual weapons at her disposal, was making use of them. He didn't feel like being her target, however, even if his body were responding to her on its own.

"You can't bring yourself to touch me anymore, can you?" Elizabeth lowered her head, wrapping her arms around herself.

John sighed and sat again, "Elizabeth I care about you…I don't want to take advantage of you. I know you say you want this, but I can't know that for sure. How do I know this is really you talking, not just your training or something else?"

"John," Elizabeth turned to pull John into a gentle kiss. "I don't know how to convince you, but I assure you this is _me_ this is what _I_ want." She gently but forcefully pushed him back slightly so that she could move to straddle him, moving her hips just slightly, sliding the warm silk between her legs over his quickly responsive groin.

John's hands came up to grasp her waist, keeping her steady. He was staring directly at her perfect, icily pale breasts. Her nipples were hard, and even as he tried to tear his eyes away and think of some sort of protest, she was grinding herself down over his semi-erection.

"Please John let me have this."

The need, the want, the desire, and dare he say the love John saw in Elizabeth's eyes undid him. His hands slid up with out much conscious thought to cup her breasts. So soft, so warm, like liquid ivory in his hands, their perfect weight, their incredibly sweet-looking nubs...

As Elizabeth began to pull his shirt off John tried to remind himself why he shouldn't be doing this, but pretty much all conscious thought flew out the window as her hands continued to glide over him, stopping constantly to pinch and caress every spot that made his body jerk and his blood simmer. She moved until she was kissing him, deeply, hard and aggressive, growling in the back of her throat. He kissed her back with equal passion and reached a hand down to caress her hip through the silk.

She shuddered and pressed herself against his now extremely hard cock, and suddenly he couldn't stand that there were barriers between them, however luxuriant. He rolled them over and stripped off his pants with one hand, nibbling carefully along her neck, listening for her reactions, and zeroing in on one spot near her collarbone which made her arch and hiss in pleasure. Her own hands fumbled against him as she slid off the rest of her own clothing.

Her legs wrapped around him, and she used the leverage to stroke his erection with her soft folds. He groaned and shuddered and fought the urge to grab her and thrust inside. The tension of the day had become transformed into an overwhelming desire for release, and he remembered all too clearly her sweetness around him.

This was going so fast and neither of them truly seemed to be in control. Instead, it seemed suddenly that they were competing to give to the other the most pleasure as quickly as they could, and he was biting along her shoulder and using one hand to caress her left breast as he slid his other hand smoothly into her light public hair and then deeper into the wet heat of her.

She spread her legs and pulled on his hips, and even while his fingers found her clitoris, hers guided him inside her. He pushed in as gently as he could then grunted in surprise as she raised her hips off the bed to drive him in harder. Instantly, he found a rhythm, as he thrust her cries grew in volume and intensity. His own cries joined hers, and they were soon moving against each other furiously.

Her back arched and she screamed his name as she came, squeezing herself around him and urging out his own release. He resisted with everything he had, thrusting inside her sweet warmth again and again until she came a second time, her nails digging into his back as she screamed wordlessly. Then he came tumbling into it blindly and held aloft a split-second before the fire engulfed him, contracted inside him, and then exploded, taking him completely. He didn't pass out, but he fell asleep very quickly after that.

--

The early morning light woke John. Feeling Elizabeth next to him, John felt a wave of guilt wash through him. He couldn't blame Elizabeth for anything that had happened the night before. He had after all been tortured himself and knew what it was like to crave any act of kindness, to be allowed any sort of solace or comfort.

His resolution not to further compromise his principles failed him, and more importantly, also failed Elizabeth. His attraction to her did not excuse his behavior. Last night had not been about protecting her from the Arcadians, but rather about pity for her situation. And, more telling, about his sexual needs. That disgusted John.

He would resist such impulses after he rescued Elizabeth. Then she could be properly cared for by the people trained to do so. Heightmeyer was more suited to help Elizabeth at this particular stage than he was. He knew he represented the gender that had most harmed Elizabeth; a female would be more appropriate.

Softly John ran a soothing hand along Elizabeth's arm. She startled under his hand.

"Hmm…" The gentle sound was not reflected in the tenseness of her body. She reached back and stroked his body with a practiced hand. The hand found his most sensitive region, and began softly massaging him.

"Elizabeth…" A moan escaped, as his body complimented her performance.

Her hand tightened, almost involuntarily. John moaned again. He was not getting turned on, he was not getting turned on, the thought repeated over and over in his mind. Forcibly, he brought his mind back to the current situation. He took her wrist in his hand.

Rolling over Elizabeth blushed slightly as she shook off the last traces of sleep. "Sorry, reflex."

"No harm done." John released her wrist and slid out of bed. Despite Elizabeth's upcoming rescue, this morning needed to be played perfectly. When they left this room, he couldn't concern himself with Elizabeth any longer.

He felt Elizabeth looking at him, and ignored it. They both needed to get ready for the morning. "Come on, breakfast time. Wouldn't want to miss a crucial piece of information because of low blood sugar."

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow as she slid out of bed. "You're starting to sound like Rodney."

"Hey now, there's no need to get insulting." John called as Elizabeth disappeared into the bathroom.

When she came out John had a small breakfast set out on the table. They sat at the table for a long time after the meal had been consumed. It seemed that neither wished to stand up and end the moment. Their silence lingered around them, touching their eyes, as their eyes carefully avoided the other.

The time forced John to leave. He finished dressing then waited for Elizabeth. She again wore the demeaning costume that the Arcadians made their sex slaves wear. Her eyes, now on him, pleaded, even as she held her body aloof.

"Hey it's gonna be ok." He reassured her. "Only a little longer to pretend, then you'll be safe."

"I know," she said, her tone soft, almost inaudible. "But it still seems a dream, and I'm afraid that it won't happen. That you'll go through that door, and then I'll never see you again. And this will have only been a nightmare, and there'll be no rescue, none at all."

Despite his best intentions not to touch her again, John gathered her into his arms. She nestled there, her shoulders shaking with unshed tears. "Shh, I promise everything will be fine. The Arcadians will never suspect a thing." He resisted the urge to kiss her.

They left the suite together. They met a pair of guards who would escort Elizabeth back to wherever it was that sex slaves went during the day. John shuddered inwardly, but reminded himself that she would soon never have to suffer torments here again. He schooled his expression to impassivity, but could not help a slight curve in his lips. Only a short time, and she would fear no more. He was certain of that.

--

Free.

She was going to be free.

No more beatings, no more implant. No more men, except perhaps for John, if she could make him want her, and what by all that was eternal had she been doing for the past year if not learning to make men want her?

Her mind raced as she walked between the guards. She'd learned so well to mask misery, to seem wholly unconcerned with the torments she suffered every night. The guards had learned the hard way not to taunt her. She never dared actively disobey them, since they did have leave to beat her for being disobedient or 'spirited,' but she could, and did, flaunt her sexuality at them and subtly taunt them with what they could not have. This, she had found, enraged them, and yet if they beat her too much they risked damaging her and losing their jobs, and if they raped her they _would_ lose their jobs. Jerick didn't tolerate mere guardsmen availing themselves of his perks.

If they tried to make her life difficult she could redouble it on them, sneering and taunting their masculinity with her body, making them feel like insects unworthy of her, and when some of them lost control and raped her to 'teach her, her place', they lost their jobs as well. It was a tiny power, a power that could hardly be exercised without risking herself, but it was something and she'd used it many times in the past to mask the pain of what Jerick or her latest 'client' had done the previous night.

Now she had the opposite problem. She had to hide the fact that she was half-delirious with excitement, and if she didn't taunt them, they might see through her facade, might realize how happy she was. But if she did, she ran the risk of being thrown down on the floor here and raped, and she couldn't bear the thought of that again. Not after yesterday. Not so close to freedom. Not after John. So she had to be calm. She had to stare at the floor, let her eyes un-focus and be dull, let herself stumble occasionally as if with exhaustion or pain. Even though she wanted to dance, she wanted to scream, to run through the halls shouting in delight. After today, she'd be free.

At the door to the cellblock they were met by another guard. "You got her?"

"The bitch in person." One of her guards shoved her slightly, making her stumble.

The new guard grinned broadly. "Good, Jerick wants her down in Debrief."

Oh, for the love of… Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "I've reported everything Sheppard told me, _sir_," she said, using deferential language but with a tone that was anything but. "I'm afraid I can't help it if he's not very talkative in bed. Some men _do_ have better things to do in bed than talk, although I can see why the Grand Patriarch might not realize that."

"That so?" The guard's grin grew wider, and Elizabeth had the sudden horrible sinking sensation that he was laughing at her.

What was this about? Did Jerick not believe the information she'd made up to give him about John, and was using it as an excuse to punish her? Not that Jerick needed to be all that creative in finding excuses, but if he intended to use the resources of Debrief rather than simply taking her to bed and beating her black and blue, this was going to be bad.

There was no point in pleading with this guard, or the two men escorting her – they wouldn't have the power to change her situation in any way. She'd save it for when she got to Debrief. If Jerick just wanted more information about John, she'd just make more things up, and make it look like she'd been more afraid of what John would do to her if she told than what Jerick would do to her. She'd have to endure _some_ pain to pull it off believably, but things couldn't possibly get too bad…Right?

They reached Debrief – the third guard following them, for some unknown reason. She kept her head down, kept her breathing even. No need to be scared. John would get her out of there before anything too bad could happen. When she caught a glimpse of the third guard behind her in her peripheral vision, he was leering at her. That was bad. But John was coming for her. She'd just have to endure, whatever it was, until he got there.

Then they reached their destination, one of the interrogation cells. Elizabeth saw the table, and stopped breathing.

If she'd been anywhere else she would have considered it nothing, hardly a sophisticated implement of torture. It was simply a padded table. There were shackles and chains connected to various places on the table, including the upper corners at the table's foot. It would have meant nothing, except that she'd been chained up on that table before.

When she'd first come here, Jerick had locked her in one of the guest suites and then raped her. At first she'd been too shocked to do anything, but then rage at her mistreatment had gotten the upper hand in her. So when Jerick had tried to force her to perform oral sex, she bit him, and ran. Unfortunately the door to the suite had been locked. There'd been nowhere to go, nowhere to escape to, and when Jerick had recovered he'd methodically beaten her senseless while she fought and tried to flee.

She'd lost consciousness, and awoken strapped to the table, probably in Debrief although she'd never known exactly where, with a ring gag in her mouth preventing her from biting again or making comments. And for a period that had seemed like eternity, Jerick had let what seemed like every man who worked in the building have her, in every orifice that could accommodate them.

Now she was so inured to rape that she'd put up with it simply to take out her rage on someone else. That however, didn't change the fact that, that table frightened her more than just about anything else she could have seen in that room.

She bolted. She couldn't help it – the fear had her completely, and she might have resigned herself to it, might have dully accepted the punishment coming to her if it hadn't been for John making her hope, making her think she'd never have to service another man and now this…No. The guards hadn't expected it – most of the slaves _were_ dully resigned, or would cry, or plead for mercy. Running wasn't something they usually did.

This, of course, was because running didn't do any good. The pain from the implant seared through Elizabeth's neck, blotting the world. Her fear was so terrible she kept going, stumbling, for a few steps anyway before the pain had her muscles locked, toppling her to the floor.

She screamed and thrashed, digging fingernails into her neck, and was only distantly aware of the men lifting her, positioning her, shackling her legs apart to the high bars around the table and her arms back over her head. Then the pain stopped. Through tear-blurred eyes she could see a man in the uniform of an interrogator, standing over her, holding the remote for the implant.

The interrogator smiled. "Sunain, go get a few of your friends. The Grand Patriarch says he'd like somewhere between six to ten men to soften her up some before the questioning starts, and from what I hear, there should be no shortage of men who want at chance at this one."

"Yes sir!" The guard grinned as he left the room.

"Please," Elizabeth pleaded, trying desperately not to sob. "Please, what have I done? I haven't done anything, I told the Patriarch everything I was able to learn about Sheppard. I wasn't holding out, please, I've done nothing..."

The interrogator slapped her face, and took a ring gag off a small cart. "If you can't be bothered to tell the truth, bitch, perhaps I shouldn't let you speak in your defense at all."

As much as she may have hated it Elizabeth knew that what he was threatening her with was in some ways better for her than if he'd swung right into the questioning. If they were going to waste an hour or three 'softening her up' that was time they wouldn't actually be questioning her. The ring gag indicated that. She wouldn't have an opportunity to inadvertently betray John's plans. And John would get her out of there before the real questioning started, perhaps even before they were done with their fun.

She could endure. Nothing they'd do to her would be different from what Jerick did on at least a weekly basis, except in degree. There'd be some beating, some of the implant, a lot of rape. Nothing new. Nothing she couldn't endure.

She told herself this, but it didn't stop her from clenching her teeth when the interrogator tried to put the gag in, or keeping her teeth clenched through her screaming when he turned on the implant.

When he released the implant, she pleaded. "Please, sir," she said through clenched teeth. "I won't bite anymore. I've learned my lesson. You don't need the gag, I can make it better for them if you don't gag me, please..."

"No one trusts you, bitch. Now, open your mouth and take it, or get five minutes of the implant."

Having no choice she opened her mouth, and he hooked the gag in, forcing her mouth to remain open. She hated this. Aside from the fact that she'd be able to do nothing to control the degree of penetration and keep from gagging with her mouth held open like this, the gag deprived her of words, the only weapon she had. On the other hand it would keep her from breaking down and confessing things. Maybe it was safer this way.

The guard who'd originally given her guards the orders to bring her here walked up to the foot of the table, pulling her hips slightly off the edge and undoing her panties. She knew, with a sick sense of fear that she'd pay now for all the times she'd taunted the guards. Now that Jerick had given them permission to have her, in order to punish her, they'd only be too eager to rape her as brutally as they could manage.

But it was nothing Jerick himself hadn't done to her. Nothing a hundred other men hadn't done, except perhaps in degree. She gasped as the guard rammed into her, but didn't cry out. Endure. She would endure, and John would save her, and all this would be over. Endure.


	4. Chapter 4

The moment John waked into the conference room he knew something was wrong. Fensil, smirking, was standing next to Jerick, whose piggish face was flushed red. Arcadians showed anger as easily as the palest of humans, and Jerick was plainly angry. But with out knowing what had upset the man John wasn't going to call him on it.

"Sheppard," Jerick snarled. "I want to know what the fuck you thought you were playing at with Elizabeth last night."

"What are you talking about?" John asked there was no way Jerick could know what he had planed…was there?

"Don't fucking play games with me. Fensil, here, reports that you were plotting to steal my slave. He suspected you were up to something and took liberties to prove his suspicions. "

Suddenly it hit John like a brick; Fensil's run in with Elizabeth the night before. The man must have planted a listening device on Elizabeth. John mentally kicked himself, he should have thought of something like this happening.

John shrugged, trying to play it cool. "She's quite the woman, that one. Can you blame me for trying?" He sat down, nonchalantly. Play macho. Don't admit to having done anything wrong. "I'd pay good money for her. What are you charging?"

Jerick's eyes narrowed even smaller. "She's not for sale."

"Too bad." John shrugged again. "So back to business?"

"You have some nerve." Fensil spoke moving towards John. Before he could get to close Ronon, his hand on the hilt of his knife in an obvious threat, and Major Lorne intercepted the man. The Arcadian guards raised their weapons ready for a confrontation.

"I want you gone Sheppard!" Jerick exploded rising from his seat. "You and all of your men will leave immediately." He signaled the guards to lead the three men out of the room.

Knowing it wouldn't do Elizabeth any good if they got themselves killed John slowly rose from his seat, "It's a shame that you can't put a minor dispute over a woman behind you." His voice was tight and cold. "But it's your call, you want us to go then will go."

Not believing what he was hearing Ronon shot John a questioning look. Understanding how Ronon felt John returned the look, silently asking Ronon to trust him. Giving a slight nod Ronon backed off.

After ordering the Marines to fall back to the gate John along with Lorne and Ronon followed the guards out of the conference room back to the gate. Approaching the gate John was relieved to see that the jumper with Rodney, Teyla, and Carson was still cloaked. Making a slight discrete gesture with his hand – he hoped Teyla was watching from the front of the jumper – John motioned for them to stay put.

--

She was somewhere else.

What was happening to her body was painful, but she'd endured it so many times it hardly registered anymore. Instead she was reliving her memories of John. Remembering John's gentleness, his mouth on her body, his hands stroking her back and the way he held her as she wept. He'd promised, and he didn't break his promises, Elizabeth knew that. This would stop. Sooner or later it would stop.

And then her attention was brought back to the now, back to the pain, the guard who was currently ramming into her, by Jerick's voice addressing the guards. "Hope you guys have had a turn already, because we're gonna be questioning her as soon as he's done."

Elizabeth couldn't move her head, couldn't see Jerick with the guard on top of her in the way. So it was going to begin. Well, she wouldn't tell him anything. If he didn't already know what John had planed, he wasn't going to find out from her.

When the guard between her legs finished up and moved aside she could see Jerick standing at the foot of the table next to Fensil. "Quite the predicament you've gotten yourself into, Elizabeth." Jerick sounded almost cheerful, which was bad, very, very bad. She tried to control her breathing, which was difficult with the gag still in. He motioned to a guard. "Take the gag out of her mouth. I want to hear what she's got to say for herself."

As soon as the gag was removed, Jerick walked over to stand right by her head, looking down. "I'll make you a deal, you tell me what you offered Sheppard to break you out of here and I won't activate your implant."

Elizabeth shook her head, "I'm sorry, sir," she said, knowing perfectly well that he wouldn't believe her, that she'd get the implant for this. But her only hope was to stall for time, to give John a chance. Why hadn't he come for her yet? He had to know something was wrong by now "I didn't offer him anything... I don't know what you're talking about..."

"Sometimes you're a really stupid bitch, you know that?' Jerick said, and turned on the implant.

She managed not to scream. When Jerick turned off the implant he waited for her to come back to herself, for her half-sobbing breathing to even out, "Fensil here bugged you. We heard everything you and Sheppard talked about… He's not coming for you, you know. I kicked him off the planet."

She stared at him numbly, horrified and yet not entirely surprised. She'd been right early this morning, when she hadn't been able to believe it was going to happen, that she was finely going to be free. '_No he's coming, John won't leave me here'_ the tiny voice of desperate hope said.

She shifted tactics. If she was going to be tortured anyway, if there was no way out of it, there was no point to groveling or begging for mercy, no point to lying except to throw Jerick off. "Then you know everything," she said, summoning up as much defiance as she could, "and there's nothing I can tell you."

This time the implant lasted much longer, and she did scream, twisting and struggling in her bonds as if escape could do her any good even if it were possible. After however many eternities he had the implant on, he released her just long enough to think it was over, and then did it again. She was crying when he finally released her in actuality... but nowhere near breaking.

She'd been tortured so many times with the implant that, horrible as it was, it just couldn't frighten her as much as the thought of breaking John's trust did. Not when he was her only hope of freedom, and she'd actually come to believe freedom was possible.

No, she would not break. She was too used to this, too experienced with pain. It hurt so badly she would wish at that moment she could die to make it stop, but her hate for Jerick, and her feelings toward John, gave her the strength to resist.

Several minutes into the interrogation, Jerick, obviously aroused by her pain, raped her. In a way that was almost a reprieve. Rape was easier to deal with than the implant, or else they'd never have been able to break her to her duties as a whore. Jerick frightened her, for the same reason the table she was on had terrified her – he'd been the first to violate her, and then had had her on at least a weekly basis ever since, always devising new and more terrible ways to hurt or humiliate her.

With other men she could pretend to enjoy it, was in fact very good at putting on a show for them, but she'd never been able to put on a show for Jerick – he was too frightening and hateful, her true feelings too raw, and besides he'd never expected it of her. He wanted her to scream, and cry, and beg, and he frightened her enough that he usually got what he wanted. But he didn't get it this time. He was brutal, and she hurt terribly, but after ten minutes of torture with the implant this was nothing.

Then he offered Fensil a turn, "Did Sheppard do it to you like this?" he asked, sneering as he raped her. "Did he fuck you hard, like this? You like it like this, don't you?" He dug his fingers into her buttocks, bruising her and slamming into her harder. She felt like she was being repeatedly punched inside. Fensil laughed at Elizabeth's whimpering.

When Fensil was done with her, he took his time drying off and pulling his pants back up, then turned to Jerick. "My friend, I think we might be going about this the wrong way. What ever she offered Sheppard must be important, making her valuable to him. And she knows that if she tells _us_ the information, she becomes less valuable to Sheppard."

"So, what're you suggesting?" Jerick asked. "This one's a spirited bitch. Tried my best to knock it out of her, and I think I did a fucking good job considering what I had to work with, but she's still got it in her. Still thinks she's better than everyone."

"Well, then we aren't going about this quite the right way. Such a _spirited_ slave must be very, very used to neurostimulation, and the service she performs regularly must have numbed her to the fear of rape entirely. Not that she wasn't pleasurable - " he leered grotesquely at Elizabeth, then turned his attention back to Jerick " – but I don't think our satisfaction had the intended effect on her."

"Get to the point, Fensil."

"Well as you know the advantage of neurostimulation can also be a disadvantage. It is exquisitely painful, but too much of it starts to numb the brain's ability to feel pain. And it doesn't cause any other damage. With an expensive whore like this one, you've taken great pains not to let her suffer any serious amount of physical damage. A few whippings for pleasure, some beatings for her defiant nature, but nothing severe. Nothing bloody or maiming, since that would damage her value. And I imagine that right now, our need for her information outweighs her value."

Elizabeth's eyes widened. She hadn't thought they could come up with an idea that would frighten her. She was, indeed, inured to rape, terribly used to pain, and resigned to death. But the idea of being mutilated, though... '_I won't break. I won't.'_

"For instance," Fensil said, walking around behind Elizabeth's head so she had to crane back to look up at him, "her hands." He caught one restrained hand in his two, running leathery fingers over her palm and fingertips as she struggled to pull her hand free of him. "Obviously, a whore should have lovely, strong hands. It would be such a shame to have to break these beautiful fingers. But -" he pulled her pinky back until it could go no farther – "If we've already made the decision that she's outlived her usefulness, then it doesn't really matter, does it?"

Jerick stared down at Elizabeth, breathing hard. She stared back, begging him with her eyes not to let this happen. He found her personally valuable. Who would he have to torment on a regular basis if he killed her? If they broke her fingers how would she be able to get him off when he demanded hands and tongue both?

He shook his head once, sharply. "Yeah, you're probably right," he said.

With a grin Fensil pulled her fragile finger back all the way, snapping it. She screamed. "Now," Fensil said pleasantly, "you can start telling us what you offered Sheppard. Or, I can do another finger. You do have nine more of them."

The pain wasn't worse than the implant. Just different, just a style of pain she wasn't used to. It was pain that didn't stop when they stopped the torture, but it wasn't worse, she could live with it, and if John didn't come in time she would be dead and it wouldn't matter that her hands didn't work. She could deal with this. She could.

"Fuck you." Elizabeth gasped out between clenched teeth. No. She wouldn't tell them anything. She wouldn't. Either John would come, or she would die. And either would free her. She just had to hold out until one or the other happened.

--

As soon as he was back in Atlantis John turned to face Lorne, Ronon, and the Marines. "All of you in the jumper bay now. Lorne I want three jumpers prepped and ready to go ASAP." His tone left no room for argument.

"Colonel?" Caldwell quickly moved from the control room to the gate room.

Ignoring Caldwell, John activated his radio, "Cadman, Stackhouse, Bates, Stone, Fox report to the Jumper Bay now, full gear." Receiving various 'yes sirs' he headed for the Jumper bay himself.

"Colonel Sheppard!" Caldwell moved in front of John.

"In a nut shell sir, plan A just got shot to hell." Training was the only thing that kept John from plowing past Caldwell. "It's time to fuck being discrete and stealthfull. We're going in with force now. I don't care if I have to level the whole damn city, I. Will. Get. Elizabeth. Back. "

"Understood." Caldwell nodded his agreement. John went to move past Caldwell but stopped when the man grabbed his arm. "Bring her home Colonel."

A moment of understanding passed between them. "Yes sir."

In the Jumper Bay John immediately started calling out orders. "Stone pilot jumper four, Fox jumper three, Stackhouse jumper two, Lorne you'll take jumper one when we get back to the planet. Ronon, Cadman, Bates, and the rest of you Marines will be on the ground with me." Nodding their understanding the soldiers boarded the jumpers.

Trying to hail Jerick hadn't worked. The Minor Functionary who answered the hail reported that Jerick was very busy, in a private conference, and that the message would be passed on, but the Minor Functionary couldn't say when that would be. John hadn't expected much else.

So after the cloaked jumpers were through the gate John had Stackhouse land jumper two next to jumper one. "Teyla, keep the jumper cloaked but lower the hatch, Major Lorne's coming aboard." John ordered over his radio.

"Colonel what's going on?" Rodney's voice came over the radio.

"Change in plans. You, Carson, and Teyla stay in the jumper. Lorne will explain."

Once Lorne was aboard jumper one John led Ronon, Cadman, Bates, and the Marines towards the city, the four cloaked jumpers following them, ready to de-cloak when ordered.

--

John was coming. He wouldn't leave her there.

Elizabeth tried to believe, to hold on to that thought in the face of the torture. He would come for her, or she'd die, and either way she would be free. The pain would stop. She had to believed she could hold out. She'd suffered so much sincecoming here. But as horrible as the implant was, when it shut off, it was gone. The pain didn't linger. And there had been beatings and whippings and far too many rapes, and those pains lingered. But they were nowhere near the same league as what she was experiencing now.

John had to come for her. Jerick and Fensil were slowly breaking her down and Fensil wouldn't stop smiling, a broad, savage grin splitting his scaly face as he hurt her, again and again. The pain was unbearable, and everything they did added, nothing ever taken away. So it built and built and she knew, anytime they did something, the pain would last until she was dead, added to all the other pains. She should be dead by now; she began to long for it, but Jerick wanted to see her suffer and Fensil was skilled enough not to let her die.

--

"Halt!" An Arcadian guard called out as he spotted John and the other soldiers headed for the capital building. John ignored the man.

Hearing the commotion the Minor Functionary that had answered Atlantis' hail came bustling out of the building. "Colonel Sheppard," the man said smarmily, "I'm sorry but as I said earlier the Grand Patriarch is unavailable."

"Too damn bad for him, because you see Jerick is holding one of my people prisoner and I'm here to get her back." John said tightly. "And unless he wants to see his city leveled he'll hand her over now."

The Minor Functionary goggled. "You-- you can't be serious!"

"Very serious." John activated his radio. "Major Lorne."

"Sir." Lorne responded as all four jumpers uncloaked.

"Fire a warning shot over the capital building."

"Yes sir." Lorne fired a drone, skimming the top of the capital building.

"Now I'd prefer to minimize innocent casualties, but I will start targeting actual buildings next, if Jerick doesn't release his prisoner."

"I…I'll get him." The Minor Functionary disappeared back inside.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Sheppard? I ordered you off my planet!" Jerick yelled as he burst out of the capital building. "And I'm sure as hell not holding one of your people prisoner!"

"That's were you're wrong Jerick." John stared into Jerick's eyes, feeling his face settle into a hard, icy expression. "Elizabeth is one of my people. She is Dr. Elizabeth Weir a citizen of my home world Earth and the rightful leader of Atlantis. But more importantly she's family, you mess with one of us you mess with all of us. If she isn't returned to us immediately I will order my men to open fire."

"You're bluffing." Jerick tried to sound confident, but John could see the man starting to sweat.

"Lorne…" Lorne fired another drone at an empty building on the edge of the city. "All I want is one person Jerick, is she really worth the destruction of you city?"

"Fine you can have the bitch. She's worthless to me now anyway." Jerick signaled to two of his guards who disappeared back into the building.

Five minutes later the guards returned dragging a limp Elizabeth between them. Roughly dumping her on the ground the guards backed off. With the other three jumpers covering them Lorne landed jumper one lowering the hatch. The second the hatch was low enough Carson was out of the jumper headed for Elizabeth. John was a step ahead of him and already had her scooped up in his arms by the time Carson got to them.

Johnmanaged not to show a reaction, though horror overwhelmed him as he saw Elizabeth. She was naked, covered with blood, there were numerous bruises and cuts all over her body. One eye was swollen shut and he could see that several bones in her left hand along with the arm it's self was broken. He felt sick, but would not show it.

"Shh…" John soothed as Elizabeth weakly struggled in his grasp. "You're safe I've got you." She didn't say anything but did stop struggling.

Wrapping the blanket he'd grabbed from the back of the jumper around Elizabeth, Carson began giving her a quick look over until he was satisfied that she was stable enough to move. Between the two of them John and Carson moved Elizabeth towards the jumper.

Busy worrying about Elizabeth, John didn't notice Jerick pull out and aim a small weapon at him until he heard the distinct sound of Ronon's blaster going off. Whirling around John spotted Jerick sprawled out on the ground, a hole in his chest. This was one time he wasn't going to call Ronon on having his weapon set on kill. Although he was a little pissed that he didn't get to be the one to kill the bastard. Not wanting to risk any more destruction or death the Arcadian guards lowered their weapons and allowed the Atlantis team leave with out any resistance.

--

As soon as they were back in Atlantis Carson and a med team had Elizabeth on a gurney and were whisking her off to the infirmary. Leaving his team to fill Caldwell in John followed after the med team. He needed to see Elizabeth, needed to know that she would be ok.

Reaching the infirmary John could see a handful of medical personal crowded around a bed working on Elizabeth, she was more conscious now than she had been in the jumper. He noticed Carson standing just off to the side of the crowd, close enough to help if need be, be not in the thick of things.

"Carson?" John moved over to the doctor's side. "Why aren't you…"

"Believe me John it's killing me to not be in the thick of things helping, but I figured that under the circumstances it would be best if I let Dr. Biro take the lead on this one for now."

"John…" Before John could say anything he was cut off by Elizabeth weakly but firmly calling out for him.

"Shh…It's ok I'm here." John moved over to the bed gently grasping her uninjured hand.

"Knew…knew you'd come." She weakly squeezed his hand.

"Colonel," Dr. Biro spoke softly coming to stand next to John. "We need to get her into surgery."

"No…no…don't leave…" Elizabeth attempted to tighten her hold on John's hand.

"It's ok I'm not going anywhere." He softly kissed her forehead, running a soothing hand through her hair.

"Feel…safe…you…" She mumbled as the sedative she'd been given earlier finally took hold.

"She's gonna be ok, right?" John turned to look at Carson as Biro wheeled Elizabeth off to surgery.

"Aye physically she should be fine, given time. It's emotionally we'll have to wait and see about. But I have no doubt that with help from Kate and more importantly help from _you_ she'll be fine."

"From me…Yeah that's the part that's got me terrified. I've never…I mean give me a weapon and point me in the direction of the enemy and I'll know exactly what to do, but something like this…?"

"Just be yourself." With that Carson followed in the direction Biro had disappeared.

"Myself, right." John was terrified that he would only make things worst.

--

Sequel is in the works.


End file.
